In the Suburbs
by Advanced Procrastination
Summary: What if Reese asked Carter to be his undercover wife instead? Spoilers for 2x06 "High Road." Rated for language.


**_A/N: _**_Hello again, guys and gals. I'd like to first say thank you to those who have read and reviewed my first one-shot for POI, "Reunion." It definitely wasn't my best grammatically because it's been so long, but nevertheless… Not only have your reviews encouraged me to write more and vent a bit of my imagination but I'm also procrastinating heavily on this essay I'm supposed be done with by tonight. Procrastination habits die hard, even in college. My pen name just emphasizes that fact, doesn't it?_

_I spelled Syzmanski's name wrong in that one-shot too. Lol, so embarrassing. Now I don't even know if I spelled Donnelly right anymore._

_Anyways, I wasn't a big fan of the episode "High Road" since Reese asked Zoe to be his undercover wife. I wish he asked Carter instead, lol. To compensate for my dissatisfaction, I daydreamed of this little story in the middle of my 2D Design class (yes I realize I've committed one of the seven deadly sins of college besides procrastinating) and it will be my first fic that will consist of a few chapters. Like. Ever._

_It's not going to be a long one, since I believe I'm not ready to handle huge and long stories yet. Probably around 3-4 chapters, but I'll never really know. My imagination can spawn a new idea at any time given the right circumstances, lol. _

_POI and its characters do not belong to me. Can I at least borrow them for my birthday, Bad Robot?_

_And without further ado…_

* * *

It was one of those rare occasions for Jocelyn Carter. Not only was she praised by her boss and peers for closing some of the most crucial cases, she was graciously rewarded with a few days off. It wasn't much, but for a full-time NYPD Homicide Detective such as herself, less was more.

After clearing off the last bits of paperwork and reorganizing her desk, she left the precinct feeling fresh as ever, breathing in the cool evening air. A wave of excitement pulsing through her as she thought about a full seventy-two hours to herself.

Joss made a mental list of things she that needed to be done during her mini-vacation. First, she would catch up with her girlfriends, something she hasn't done since… forever. Of course, she would definitely plan some mother-son bonding time with Taylor-

"You see that, Detective? Finch and I help make you look good. It only took them a few months to finally reward you."

Just as she was about to enter her car, she looked up to see an all too familiar law-breaker leaning back against the corner of an alleyway with his hands shoved in his pockets. His trademark smirk stirring a mix of disbelief and another indescribable feeling.

She huffed a humorless laugh to herself and looked away for a second before reconnecting with his gaze.

"Unbelievable."

It was always a sign. Whenever he showed up, she knew trouble was brewing around the corner.

Sometimes, literally.

"Don't tell me you've been there entire time."

Just to tease her, he let her words sink in and said nothing, simply raising his eyebrows while keeping the smirk plastered to his face.

"…listening."

His silence continued, merely keeping his intensely playful features on her that spawned butterflies in her stomach.

She threw her hands up in defeat. The guy had no little to no respect for her privacy whatsoever and it pissed her off. Does he listen to all of her damn conversations?

At the same time though, she couldn't deny that his presence was always a turn-on for her… unfortunately.

He turned and headed deeper into the alleyway. She sighed and took that as a gesture to follow him.

"Thanks, I always wanted to start a weekend off in a back alley" she breathed sarcastically to him after they walked a decently private distance away from public streets. He almost made her think he was doing this on purpose just to screw her over. She didn't bother trying to resign the irritation from her tone either.

"No one said you had to follow me, Carter. Didn't know you wanted to that badly," he informed her, feigning mischievous innocence.

Much to her dismay, he was right. She could have just ignored him and drove off like she never saw him. Instead, she made the choice to follow him out of pure instinct. That's what this man has done to her over the course of working with him.

Eventually, providing pieces of information from places his vigilante skills couldn't reach and being out on the field with him naturally flowed into her daily life at work. Despite the large gap between law-enforcer and law-breaker, and her having to reprimand him for his actions most of the time, there lingered a mutual admiration for each other. The shared willingness to risk their lives for complete strangers everyday, to bring criminals to justice, to crossing boundaries in order to uphold the law without upholding it, all intertwined with their differences and drew them closer together.

Over time, their alliance grew, budding from simply being partners in crime to... whatever _this_ was. Whatever that sends her heart and mind to inwardly combust in small bursts whenever he shows up…

"Joss?"

His voice laced with concern as he was able to snap her back from her contemplation. Whether it would occur during their playful exchanges or simple conversations where he would voice his worries over her safety despite being able to take care of herself, she always found it strangely comforting whenever he addressed her as Joss.

"Yeah yeah it's uh, nothing," her words faltered a bit after realizing she'd spaced out contemplating their unusual relationship or... friendship or whatever.

She looked up into his mesmerizing eyes and knew he didn't believe her.

His lips thinned into a line though his eyes conveyed hundreds of unexplained feelings as he gazed back at her deep browns. He wanted to pry deeper, to tell her he could talk to him, and tell her he was the shoulder she could lean on if there was anything on her mind troubling her. Words never came, worried he would irritate her or cause more unrest.

She blinked and looked away for a second after a few unsettling beats of silence. Looking at him only made her even more confused than she already was. "What do you need, John?"

His gaze still lingered on her even after she turned away, softening his gruff voice in preparation of what he was about to tell her. "Just a minor favor."

She turned back to him, her expression kept at neutral. "Which would be...?"

"I need a third hand for an undercover in the suburbs."

"What, the suburbs too much for 'The Man in a Suit' to handle by himself?" She tried to make light of the conversation after their uncomfortable silence by teasing him a bit. He easily responded with a ghost of a smile and pulled out a parking ticket from his suit jacket.

"Just need someone on the force to make sure this doesn't happen again."

She raised her eyebrows and curiously took the ticket from him, reading over the details.

"Really? In a no-parking zone?" She was genuinely shocked he was _this_ careless.

"It's the suburbs, Carter. Harder to tail someone there than in the city," he claimed in his defense.

"So you're telling me you can _illegally_ stalk people without getting noticed but you let a parking spot slip by."

"Hey, I asked nicely if he could let me off with a warning." Not really. He should have said please. Damn it.

She chuckled lightly at the slight raise of his voice, soaking in the humor from him actually becoming genuinely frustrated from embarrassment.

"Fine. Just tell me when and where to meet-"

"Actually… I was about to get to that," he intervened, a small flurry of anxiety surging through him.

She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"One: This is possibly going to take up your entire 'break.'"

She said nothing, simply staring at him as if he was an idiot if he thought she didn't know that.

"Yeah, I'll put an IOU on that… Two…"

Slowly but surely, he pulled out a small box from his pockets while shoving the free hand in the other. He flipped it open to reveal a Finch-class diamond ring.

Her eyes widened in disbelief, her unexplained emotions mixing in with different varieties of confusion.

Her wide eyes looked up to his neutral blues and she took notice of his Adam's Apple bobbing twice before he continued.

"Jocelyn Carter, will you be my wife?" She noticed the little stumble at the end in his tone, almost as if he was nervous?

So many things were going through her mind, one thought being curious as to what the hell was going on his own mind. Her gaze shifted between the ring and his intense expression. She knew it was for the sake of going undercover, but… an undercover wife?! That's the best he's got?

Not that she was complaining, no not at all. Any woman would take up that offer, undercover or not. One of many things she couldn't read about him was why? Why had he chosen her out of all people?

Noticing her shocked expression, his heart sunk deeply. Even though it was just a cover-up, he always thought their relationship would never exceed their current level to this. He wasn't her type. His life was unstable, unsafe. Her reaction only fortified his belief that they would never work together no matter how much he wished upon a star.

And so he clung to their budding friendship. In a desperate attempt to reconnect the bond he thought he had severed, he began reassuring her with mildly poor excuses.

"I'm… sorry, I don't really keep in touch with a lot of um… besides..."

"No, no, it's uh it's… alright. If that's what it takes to save a life in danger," she interrupted, trying to remain as professional as he was in this situation despite both of their feelings intertwining in a bundle of the unknown.

He nodded, taking that as her 'yes.' A small wave of relief washed over him, believing that nothing had affected their current relationship. Or at least he hoped.

He walked her back to her car in an uncomfortable silence, the box encasing the ring shoved in her pocket. When they reached her car, he nodded a stiff goodbye to her before he walked off.

Something spurred inside her and she called at his back in hopes of bringing back even the tiniest of lights.

"You know you can cross off back-alleys as your suggested places to propose."

He responded by looking over his shoulder to her.

"It ain't that romantic."

In that moment, she saw a rare occasion light his face up. His laugh lines defined by a genuine smile accompanied by the softening of his baby blues.

"Sure about that, Detective?"

They kept each other's gaze for a moments before he turned back and left. She watched his form grow smaller and smaller before he finally turned a corner down the street. Leaning her back against her car door, she released a heavy sigh, wondering what the actual fuck had she gotten herself into.

* * *

_**A/N:**_ _Ha, I've been wanting to get to this for awhile now. I've always wondered what would happen if Carter ever knew someone like Reese could get parking tickets so easily, lol. _

_Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. I sure enjoyed typing it up. Leave a review if you can and let me know what you thought and how I did. I am always open to constructive criticism. :)_

_Oh and I have a mental draft of where I'm taking this. Will update as soon as I can!_


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